TKT Module 1 Learner Characteristics PDF

TKT Module 1: Learner characteristics Teachers Notes
Description
Teachers explore what is covered by learner characteristics, a syllabus area in TKT Module
1 Part 2. They discuss their own learning styles and other aspects which may influence their
students behaviour when learning languages.
Time required:
60 minutes
Materials
required:
Participants Worksheet 1 (one for each pair)
Participants Worksheet 2 (one for each participant)
Sample Task (one for each participant)
To provide an opportunity for participants to discuss learner

characteristics including: common learning styles and preferences,
common learning strategies, maturity, past language experiences
and how learner characteristics affect learning.
To provide practice in completing tasks in which grammar is the

testing focus.
Aims:
Procedure
1. (5 minutes) On the board write: Learner characteristics. Elicit
What do participants understand by this? (the typical things about a

learner or learners that influence their learning).
What examples can you think of? (age, L1, past learning experience,
learning style.
2. Give out Participants worksheet 1 to each pair of participants. The words in the
puzzle are all learning styles. Participants answer the clues to complete the puzzle.
3. Check answers together (see key below). Point out that learning styles falls into the
syllabus area of learner characteristics, which is a tested in TKT Module 1 Part 2.
Ask participants if anyone knows what their learning style is. Ask them to write down
what learning style they are or think they might be.
4. (10 minutes) Hand out Participants worksheet 2. Participants do the questionnaire
with a partner. Then hand out Participants worksheet 3 so that they can add up the
number of V, A or K answers they got and see if they are more visual, auditory or
kinaesthetic. Ask them to check this against what they wrote in Step 3.
5. (5 minutes) Hand out Participants worksheet 4. Participants look at Exercise 1
and decide which classroom activity would suit which type of learner. Check answers
together (see key below).
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Page 1 of 9
6. (10 minutes) Discuss together briefly:

What effect do learning styles have on the way students behave in class?
(they may respond better or worse to different types of activities and
techniques)
How can your learning style help you to become a better learner? (we
may adopt different strategies according to our learning styles.)
Focus on Participants worksheet 4 Exercise 2. Participants discuss strategies
which might help learners with these aspects of language learning.
7. (5 minutes) Hand out Participants worksheet 5. Participants match the suggestions
on the worksheet with the aspects of learning on Participants worksheet 4
Exercise 2. Check answers together (see key below).
8. (10 minutes) Ask participants:
What other learner characteristics, apart from learning styles and learning
strategies, influence the way we learn? (L1, culture, age/maturity, past
language learning experiences)
Put participant to talk in pairs about:
What are some of the different learner characteristics of children,
teenagers and adults?
What effect can learners past learning experiences have on learner
characteristics?
9. Feed back with the whole group for participants to share ideas. See key below for
ideas.
10. (10 minutes) Give out the Sample Task. Participants complete the sample task on
their own then compare answers with a partner. Check answers together (see key
below).
11. (5 minutes) Round up to summarise points covered. Ask participants:
What is the TKT Module 1 syllabus area for this lesson? (Learner
characteristics)
What are the areas tested in this part of the text? (common learning styles
and preferences, common learning strategies, maturity, past language learning
experiences, how learner characteristics affect learning).
What issues do you find difficult about this syllabus area? (allow
participants to share ideas)
What experiences have you had with learners different learning styles?
(allow participants to share ideas)
Page 2 of 9
TKT Module 1: Learner characteristics Answer Keys

Key to Participants Worksheet 1
3V
1A
2K
U
D
I
T
O
R
Y
I
N
A
E
S
T
H
E
T
I
C
Key to Participants Worksheet 4 Exercise 1

1. Visual
2. Auditory
3. Kinaesthetic
4. Auditory
5. Kinaesthetic
6. Visual
Key to Participants Worksheet 5 (Procedure Step 7)

1. E
2. D
3. G
4. B
5. F
6. A
7. C
Key to Procedure Step 9

What are some of the different learner characteristics of children, teenagers and
adults? Differences in
length of time they can pay attention/ concentrate
ability to stay still
ability to control behaviour
attitude to making mistakes
attitude to taking risks
levels of self consciousness
being able to bring life experiences to learning.
What effect can learners past learning experiences have on learner characteristics?
previous experience of learning may be very different to the approach taken by the
current teacher; this change may or may not be welcomed
learners may have tried to learn a language before and failed
learners may have fixed ideas about the best way of learning.
Key to Sample Task

1. D
2. C
3. A
4. H
5. E
6. G
7. F
TKT Module 1: Learner characteristics Answer Keys
Page 3 of 9
TKT Module 1: Learner characteristics Participants Worksheet 1

Complete the puzzle with learning styles using the clues below.
Across
3. A learner who finds it easier to learn when they can see things written down or in a
picture. This type of learner may like the teacher to write a new word on the board and
not just say it aloud.
Down
1. A learner who remembers things more easily when they hear them spoken. This type of
learner may like the teacher to say a new word aloud and not just write it on the board.
2. A learner who learns more easily by doing things physically. This type of learner may like
to move around or move objects while learning.
Page 4 of 9

VAK Learning Style Questionnaire
What is your preferred Learning Style?
What kind of learner are you?
For each of the following questions, chose and circle the answer that describes you best.
1.
When spelling a word, do you
6. When you relax, do you
hear or say the word to yourself?
play sports or games?
see the word?
watch TV or read?
write the word out to see how it feels?
listen to music?
2.
When you remember things, do you
7. Which do you prefer to help you learn
see some moving images?
to be active in doing things?
see clear colour pictures?
written work with lots of colours?
hear the sounds first?
to be told things?
3.
When you are thinking hard, what

interrupts you most?
8. When talking, do you
Untidiness
like to listen and talk?
Movement
move your hands about as you talk?
Noise
not want to listen for too long?
4.
When you forget someone or something,

do you
forget the face but remember the name?
9. Which do you prefer as a reward?
A
B
remember where you were and what you

were doing?
forget the name but remember the face?
5.
When reading, do you
imagine the characters moving?
make your own mental pictures?
hear the characters talking?
To be given a pat on the back.
To hear it said to you.
To get a written note.
Page 5 of 9

VAK Learning Style Questionnaire: key
Check your answers. If your answers are mostly A, you are an Auditory Learner. If your
answers are mostly V, you are a Visual Learner. If your answers are mostly K, you are a
Kinaesthetic Learner.
1.
When spelling a word, do you
6. When you relax, do you
hear or say the word to yourself? A
play sports or games? K
see the word? V
watch TV or read? V
write the word out to see how it feels? K
listen to music? A
2.
When you remember things, do you
7. Which do you prefer to help you learn
see some moving images? K
to be active in doing things? K
see clear colour pictures? V
written work with lots of colours? V
hear the sounds first? A
to be told things? A
3.
When you are thinking hard, what

interrupts you most?
8. When talking, do you
Untidiness V
like to listen and talk? A
Movement
move your hands about as you talk?K
Noise A
not want to listen for too long? V
4.
When you forget someone or something,

do you
forget the face but remember the name? A
9. Which do you prefer as a reward?

A
To be given a pat on the back. K
remember where you were and what you

were doing? K
To hear it said to you. A
To get a written note. V
A
B
forget the name but remember the face? V
5.
When reading, do you
imagine the characters moving? K
make your own mental pictures? V
hear the characters talking? A
Page 6 of 9

Exercise 1
1. The teacher creates a substitution table with the target language on the board.
2. The teacher contextualises target language by telling the students a story.
3. The teacher asks learners to come to the board and to write their answer to a task.
4. The teacher says the new words she is teaching three times before asking the students
to repeat them.
5. The teacher does a mingling activity, where learners walk around asking questions to find
out information from each other.
6. The teacher shows learners a picture of the object she is trying to elicit.
Exercise 2
What learning strategies could learners use to help them improve in the following
areas?
1. dealing with words in texts and recordings that you dont know
2. remembering new vocabulary
3. learning new grammar
4. improving pronunciation
5. developing oral fluency
6. developing comprehension skills
7. becoming more independent
Page 7 of 9

Match the learner strategies below with the areas for improvement on Participants
worksheet 4 Exercise 2.
A.
Reading more authentic material (magazines and newspapers etc.) outside class,
listening to English radio/TV programmes outside class, asking people to repeat what
they have said when you dont understand.
B.
Learning the sounds and symbols in the phonemic chart, asking teachers and other
students to correct your pronunciation, recording your self and listening for
pronunciation errors.
C.
Using the internet to research language and vocabulary, using English-English

dictionaries to research vocabulary, choosing an area of language or vocabulary to
revise/learn and using resources to self study
D.
Saying new words in your head over and over again, writing new words down in your
note book, writing new words down with a translation in your own language next to
them, writing words down on separate cards and storing them in a box.
E.
Guessing the meaning from context, looking words up in the dictionary, writing words
down to ask someone about later.
F.
Speaking English only in class, speaking English whenever possible outside class,
practise speaking for one minute on a topic without hesitating.
G.
Practising the language as soon as youve learnt it, repeating different examples of
the language, writing down the different grammatical components of the language,
cutting up the different components and arranging them in the correct order.
Page 8 of 9
TKT Module 1: Learner characteristics Sample Task

For questions 17 match the learners comments to the descriptions of learner preferences
listed AH.
Mark the correct letter (AH) on your answer sheet.
There is one extra option which you do not need to use.
Comments
1
Most of the time should be spent doing grammar exercises.
I prefer working with other students to speaking to the teacher in front of the
class.
I really like knowing how language works.
Rules just confuse me its better to work out language from examples.
Why should I listen to other students mistakes? The teacher should talk most
of the time.
I just want people to understand what I mean. I dont worry if I make mistakes.
Its important for me to know how well Im doing.
Preferences
A
The learner wants explanations of grammar use.
The learner enjoys explaining language to other students.
The learner enjoys practising language in pairs or groups.
The learner enjoys doing language practice that focuses on accuracy.
The learner doesnt want to work with other students.
The learner needs to feel a sense of progress.
The learner focuses on communicating.
The learner doesnt want the teacher to explain grammar.
TKT Module 1: Learner characteristics Sample Task
Page 9 of 9

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TKT Module 1: Learner characteristics Teachers Notes

Participants Worksheet 1 (one for each pair)

Participants Worksheet 2 (one for each participant)

Participants Worksheet 3 (one for each participant)

Participants Worksheet 4 (one for each participant)

Sample Task (one for each participant)

To provide an opportunity for participants to discuss learner

To provide practice in completing tasks in which grammar is the

What do participants understand by this? (the typical things about a

TKT Module 1: Learner characteristics Teachers Notes

6. (10 minutes) Discuss together briefly:

TKT Module 1: Learner characteristics Teachers Notes

TKT Module 1: Learner characteristics Answer Keys

Key to Participants Worksheet 4 Exercise 1

Key to Participants Worksheet 5 (Procedure Step 7)

Key to Procedure Step 9

length of time they can pay attention/ concentrate

ability to stay still

ability to control behaviour

attitude to making mistakes

attitude to taking risks

levels of self consciousness

being able to bring life experiences to learning.

learners may have tried to learn a language before and failed

Key to Sample Task

TKT Module 1: Learner characteristics Answer Keys

TKT Module 1: Learner characteristics Participants Worksheet 1

TKT Module 1: Learner characteristics Participants Worksheet 1

TKT Module 1: Learner characteristics Participants Worksheet 2

When spelling a word, do you

6. When you relax, do you

hear or say the word to yourself?

play sports or games?

see the word?

write the word out to see how it feels?

When you remember things, do you

7. Which do you prefer to help you learn

see some moving images?

to be active in doing things?

see clear colour pictures?

written work with lots of colours?

hear the sounds first?

When you are thinking hard, what

8. When talking, do you

like to listen and talk?

move your hands about as you talk?

not want to listen for too long?

When you forget someone or something,

9. Which do you prefer as a reward?

remember where you were and what you

forget the name but remember the face?

When reading, do you

imagine the characters moving?

make your own mental pictures?

hear the characters talking?

To be given a pat on the back.

To hear it said to you.

To get a written note.

TKT Module 1: Learner characteristics Participants Worksheet 2

TKT Module 1: Learner characteristics Participants Worksheet 3

When spelling a word, do you

6. When you relax, do you

hear or say the word to yourself? A